British GQ October 2020

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I think sometimes the fashion industry takes Sir Paul Smith for granted, not just because he has been so phenomenally successful over the years, and not just because he has been around for so long, but also because he has done the unthinkable and – in a similar way to other designers, such as Giorgio Armani or Vivienne Westwood – completely followed his own path, refusing to adhere to the relentless demand for novelty and transience. Fashion is an industry built on almost legislative obsolescence, which is obviously starting to look incredibly old-fashioned, but Paul has always espoused a realistic attitude towards buying clothes, even though he’s largely been in the business of selling them. He has built his career on a commitment to his own creative DNA, resolutely ignoring the…

Peter York The ongoing attacks by Rupert Murdoch, rightwing media and elements of the Conservative Party are the basis of contributor Peter York’s new book, The War Against The BBC, and for this issue he sets out all the different angles of attack being levelled at the British news organisation. “We’re in real danger of losing our greatest cultural institution,” says York. A Kirsten Mullen and William A Darity Jr Folklorist A Kirsten Mullen and economist William A Darity Jr ask how reparations could address America’s past and present. “This has been an important issue for at least 155 years,” says Mullen, “and the present moment seems promising. Laying out a reparations programme is one of the unique contributions of our book, From Here To Equality.” Danny Kasirye Danny Kasirye shot this month’s cover star,…

Looking back on the year of this pandemic, it wasn’t the events that felt real but that part of myself I recovered. I found something that had become buried under fatigue and the rubble of responsibility. The arts – great books, music, films, whatever – rescued my lockdown. Just as it seemed everyone was queuing up to cast the first stone, I was saving myself. The way to escape the culture war was, it turned out, culture. Great art coalesced with the themes of the lockdown: fear, delusion, identity, hope even. The thing so often called a luxury suddenly cleared a path for understanding the strangest of times. It achieved that elusive quality its detractors so often claim it’s missing: it was relevant. Well, it was to me anyway. The months of…

Want to look down at the earth without saddling yourself to a rocket containing thousands of litres of explosive fuel? The new US startup Space Perspective is offering a more “leisurely” way to (nearly) reach the edge of space. The operation will see passengers board a supercharged hot-air balloon at Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and head up to 100,000 feet (19 miles). Spaceship Neptune, a vast translucent balloon, will be filled with hydrogen and lift into the skies at 12 miles an hour, its path controlled remotely by a team on the ground (though there will be a pilot on board in case of emergencies). The people-carrying capsule attached to the balloon – white and spherical, reminiscent of the London Eye’s compartments – has room enough for eight passengers,…

Before we start I should probably clarify that I have nothing against Crocs in essence. In fact, some of my favourite people wear Crocs on a regular basis. Doctors and nurses, for instance: fantastic humans who require comfortable footwear to save us from the scourge of the coronavirus et al. I have unequivocal love and respect for them and their Croc-coddled feet. Likewise, chefs, those alchemists of butter and bone who have the power to transform the meanest ingredients into a feast for the senses. If wearing Crocs helps you make my dinner taste better, then, by all means, carry on, ye comfort-craving kitchen gods. However, the truth of the matter is that I have a bit of an issue with IRL people wearing Crocs, whether that’s around the house or –…